The ANS Mid-Career Research Excellence Award recognises outstanding neuroscience research by mid-career investigators who are 5–10 years post-PhD (adjusted for career disruptions). The award honours a high-quality peer‑reviewed publication published in the year preceding the award, with the nominee listed as first or senior author (including joint authorship). Eligible applicants are current ANS Members conducting research in any capacity, with the nominated work substantially undertaken in Australia or New Zealand. Publications are assessed once only and ranked by judges based on scientific significance, in alignment with the principles of the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).
Conditions
- The award is for a first or senior author publication.
- Joint first or senior author publications will also be considered.
- The submitted publication must be based on research published within 5-10 years of PhD conferral (adjusted for career disruptions, evidence of which must be provided)
- The award is open to individuals who are currently mid-career (5-10 years of PhD conferral) within the previous year to the current one.
- The award is open to individuals conducting research in any capacity, e.g. Postdoctoral Research Fellows, Research Associates/Assistants/Officers, Lecturers etc.
- The application must refer to a peer-reviewed publication with an electronic or hard publication date (whichever is the earliest) in the year previous to the current one as indicated on the published manuscript. This includes “Advance publication” or “Publication ahead of print” dates. Dates of submissions of manuscripts to pre-print servers are not considered. Any publication will only be considered for this award once.
- A publication nominated for the ANS Mid-Career Research Excellence Award can also be nominated for the Paxinos-Watson Award. However, if it receives the Paxinos-Watson Award it will no longer be considered for the ANS Mid-Career Research Excellence Award. Eligible nominees are expected to apply for both awards separately.
- Any Member of ANS may nominate one of their publications in the field of neuroscience; other authors may be Members or non-Members of the Society.
- Each Member may nominate only one publication per year, but may be a co-author on a publication nominated by another Member.
- Multiple eligible first and/or senior authors can submit a joint application and will share the prize if selected
- Applicants must be Members of ANS at the time of application and at the time the Award is presented.
- Research presented in the publication must have been substantially undertaken within Australia or New Zealand.
- The judges will rank the nominated publications on the basis of their scientific significance, mindful of the recommendations of the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) at https://sfdora.org/read/
Eligible Career Disruptions
ANS recognises career disruptions can have a significant impact on research progress and opportunity and is committed to ensuring these factors are considered in the fair and equitable assessment of nominees for this award. Below are example criteria for eligible career disruptions:
Prize
- The successful applicant will receive a certificate and prize money of $500.
- Only the nominating author will receive a certificate, and the prize money will be sent to the nominating author.
- If a joint application is successful, the co-applicants will both receive a certification and share the $500 prize money.
Application Procedure
- 2026 Applications Opening date to be provided soon.
- Applications to be made by email to the ANS secretariat, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Applicants must be Members of ANS.
- The application must consist of:
- A PDF copy of the publication.
- A brief explanation outlining the significance of the publication (maximum 500 words).
- The application may be supported by two other members of ANS. Each member can, if desired, provide a brief statement of support (200 words or less).
- The winner of the ANS Mid-Career Research Excellence Award is decided by the ANS Council.
- See the Application and Assessment Form for more information.
Please note: In accordance with DORA guidelines, do not use journal-based metrics, such as impact factor, as a surrogate measure of the quality of an individual article. The scientific content of the paper is a much more important indicator than the identity or impact factor of the journal in which it was published. The number of citations or downloads of a paper may be more representative of a paper’s importance but will vary with the audience size, i.e. the number of researchers in any particular neuroscience subdiscipline.